I know there are a few Hyatt Diamonds one here and a number are bemused by Hyatt's new programme, World of Hyatt, that starts in a few months. Whoever dreamt up those ridiculous names should not be allowed anywhere loyalty marketing and as for the programme itself, well I don't know where to start... I have re-qualified for Diamond again for next year so will see how it goes but the 'extra' benefits for top tier members doesn't seem to justify the additional qualification requirements to me.

Let's see what 2017 brings....

__________________
Incheon : Connected to the world, cut-off from Korea

Whoever dreamt up those ridiculous names should not be allowed anywhere loyalty marketing

I actually think the naming scheme is brilliant because of the potential for future expansion of the program. Rather than just stick to Discoverist, Explorist, Globalist, there is so much scope to broaden the scheme to other customer segments, like Sunkist for beach lovers, Exhibitionist for the MICE segment and Anarchist for a tie up with All Nippon Airways' loyalty program...

I know I’ve lagged in responding to this thread. I wanted the dust to settle before addressing all the changes.

I’m with most people that in doing this ridiculous switchover, Hyatt is SERIOUSLY missing the boat and many potential customers. With every other program going in the toilet, they could’ve been the single program to stand out and, therefore, grab LOTS of business from the other chains. This, despite their size of only ~600 properties vs. ~4000 of each of their competitors.

Perhaps lessons will be learned and a MAJOR Q4 promotion will occur.

The only thing that makes sense is if they are positioning it for an acquisition, or they are hoarding the cash to make a purchase. Whatever the Pritzkers decide, the company will look drastically different 12 months from now. If only the cousins hadn’t wanted to cash out…

Let’s get the obvious out of the way:

The new qualification changes suck. It’s not hard for some to manage two top tier statuses, but when 60 nights are required, it’s tough. The lack of promised communication about whether it was going to be 55 or 60 nights for existing Diamonds, was utterly ridiculous and in poor taste. Notice how there hasn’t been a peep out of Jeff Zidell.

And his explanation of WHY they chose the tier names they did was weak and, as the public has been saying, whoever came up with them should be fired. Many times, especially in loyalty programs, simple is best.

Another question he refused to answer was: if Hyatt is going to allow people to requalify for top-tier with 25 stays before March 1st, then shouldn’t there be a metric put in place to convert your stays under 25 into a percentage of nights? In other words, because the program is starting a quarter way into the requalifying year, if you clock 15 stays, that should convert into 36 nights after the changeover.

The 20 Meetings qualification WAS interesting…until you look at the T&C where it states that a “meeting” is defined as booking 10 rooms or more.

That leaves us with the only other option – $20,000 in spend. This is doable by a few individuals I know, but not so much for the masses.

Suite Upgrades

My personal belief is that the “unlimited” nomenclature is just marketing spin.

The four that we have always had is a nice benefit and one that makes Hyatt stand out from the rest.

Free Nights Upon Milestones

The free night given to all converted Diamonds is a nice gesture. But as with the qualification/requalification issue, why not an additional one? At least for a Category 1-4. After all, if you requalify for Globalist, you will get one on your way up anyways.

Then there’s the other free Category 1-4 night for visiting five different Hyatt properties. Again, this is nice, but one throughout the chain would have been better. Remember Faster Free Nights?

And while we are on the subject of awarded free nights, the two that you get for requalifying might actually drive business away from Hyatt since you have only 120 days to use them and some individuals may get strategic.

No More Welcome Amenity or 2500 Points for Closed Regency Club

I will miss these and hope that individual hotels will have the fortitude to continue the traditions.

Breakfast Benefit Change

This is another poorly communicated change. Going from 4 adults to 2 adults + 2 children is just weird – especially when no clear answer has been given as to the definition of a “child” when it has been asked repeatedly through the months.

Resort Fees

The elimination of this ridiculous charge is welcoming.

New Guest of Honor Requirement

One of the most upsetting "enhancements" is that people designated as GOH are now REQUIRED to be members of World of Hyatt.

The culling of Diamond (I can’t bring myself to use “Globalist” – and neither can many Hyatt reps) ranks is blatantly apparent. I agree with MAN Flyer that perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue had they not given the status away they year before like it was candy. Now that I think about it, perhaps a culling of Hyatt’s Loyalty and Marketing Team should have happened instead.

__________________HUGE AL

Last edited by HUGE AL; 28th March 2017 at 04:13 PM..
Reason: an SQTalker who was pissed at the GOH Requirement ;-)